Ice storms, cold waves, hail, winter storms: Texas has them all. And the combination of these weather events leads to at least $754 million in losses in Texas and $106.4 million in losses in Dallas annually, according to the National Risk Index, a database maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The index combines the likelihood and consequences of natural hazards with community risk factors and estimates risks at the census tract and county level. It calculates expected annual losses for building value, agriculture loss and even expected population losses for 18 natural hazards in the U.S., including earthquakes, hurricanes and coastal flooding.

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DWC has adopted the Medical Quality Review Calendar Year 2024 Annual Audit Plan (Annual Plan). The Annual Plan sets the priorities for the MQRP audits during the upcoming year. This includes the scope, methodology, selection criteria, and program area responsibilities described in the Medical Quality Review Process. 
 
In calendar year 2024, DWC, with the assistance of the Workers' Compensation Research and Evaluation Group (REG), will conduct one audit/study to evaluate the feasibility and impact of adopting a more current version of the American Medical Association Guides to Impairment (AMA Guides). DWC adopted the 4th edition of the AMA Guides in 2004 and is considering using a more current version of the AMA Guides to reflect the significant changes that have taken place since the 4th edition from 1993. 

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s RateWatch, Farmers Insurance instituted double-digit rate increases in 43 states in 2023 for a weighted average rate increase of 17.6%—and its private auto insurance peers in the U.S. did the same.
 
All 10 of the top auto insurers in the U.S. raised double-digit rates in 2023, with all but two—GEICO and Allstate—ending the year with higher rate increases than the prior year. The duo were among the insurers that raised auto rates the most in 2022.

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Richie DeVillier’s property east of Houston has been owned by his family for generations and had never flooded, but that all changed when the state revamped Interstate 10.
 
His rice farm first flooded during Hurricane Harvey and again during Tropical Storm Imelda.
 
The property faced substantial damage to its crops and livestock and now turns into a lake every time there’s significant weather, an annual recurrence near the East Texas coast.

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Anyone who has lived through a natural disaster and then applied to the federal government for assistance knows it can be lengthy, frustrating, and bureaucratic. New rules announced Friday by the federal agency in charge of emergency management aim to simplify and speed up the process.
 
With natural disasters now affecting more people across the United States, insurance markets in many states are buckling under the weight of payouts to those hit by wildfires and hurricanes.

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased the minimum and maximum civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for workplace safety violations, as the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act requires.

To maintain the deterrent effect of CMPs and to promote compliance with the law, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act requires an annual adjustment of CMPs to account for inflation. Each year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) calculates an inflation multiplier, and all federal agencies are required to apply that multiplier to their CMP structures by Jan. 15. For 2024, the OMB has calculated a multiplier of 1.03241 to reflect the cost-of-living increase over the past 12 months.

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